Wednesday, November 26, 2008

I'm really good at planning. I can't help it. It's part of my nature. Or maybe it's just been ingrained in me after all my years with diabetes. But in any case, my head is always swirling with plans and lists, back-up plans, and In Case of Emergency plans.

With some surprise, I realized there is one part of my life that has been seriously under-planned for. Pump site changes. Don't get me wrong, I always have plenty of supplies available to change a site whenever and wherever I may be. But what would happen if, for some reason, I couldn't change my site out on my own. The chances of being too sick to change my site are slim, because I think if I was that sick, I'd be in the hospital anyway. But what if a knitter's worst night-mare happened, and I broke my arm or something. (Yes, in the case of a broken arm, I worry about the knitting before the diabetes. I can't help it.) I don't think I could do a one-armed site change.

I've mentioned this to Pea over the past few days. Since we'll have four days together over the Thanksgiving break, I want him to do a site change for me. From start to end. To make sure that he could if I needed him to. He doesn't want to do it. He's afraid of doing it wrong or hurting me. I don't think he could really mess it up, and I'm not afraid of a little pain. I think it's more important to be sure that, In Case of Emergency, he could help me.

Do you have someone who is ready to do your site changes if you needed them to? Have you long-time pumpers ever been in a situation where someone had to change you site out for you? Is it worth forcing Pea to do one, even if he's really uncomfortable at the thought?

3 comments:

Jason often helps me put in my sensors. The only real estate i have for them is my back/love handles and butt, and in order to maximize that, I ask him to help me with the places I can't reach so well, especially since the frozen shoulder limits my ability to maneuver. There's an insertion device for the sensors though, so that's easy. I don't use an insertion device for my infusion sets. He'd do it if I couldn't, even if he was uncomfortable with it. I don't like other people putting needles in me, so I don't want him doing it unless it's absolutely necessary. I figure the likelihood of that is small, so I'm not worried about it. I don't consider myself a long-time pumper since I'm just under 5 years, but so far I've never needed help. I know good spouses will do all kinds of unpleasant tasks for each other if they have to, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Make sure he knows the steps (or where to get that info), and I suggest not dwelling on a very unlikely scenario.

I let my ex give me a shot once, and I was way more terrified than he was. He was nervous for a minute, gripped my arm like a vice, and then, holding the needle like a dart, he raised it up over his head as if he were throwing a javelin, and stabbed it into my arm. It didn't hurt too much but the amount of force involved....I looked under my arm to see if it had made it all the way through. Vewy scawy. I have another friend who likes to dial up the pens and shoot me, but she's a CNA, so it's not nearly as scary, and its practice for her....I guess. :)

I Am . . .

Karen Graffeo

I'm a Knitter living with Type 1 Diabetes. I'm not a medical professional nor am I giving medical advice - I'm just a girl sharing my personal thoughts and experiences with diabetes. I live in New England with my wonderful husband, my adorable cat, and lots and lots of yarn.